


And the wheel keeps on turning

by Cloudseer



Series: The Carpenter and the Witch [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Cor being a dad, Crowe trying her hand at being sisterly, Fairy Tale Elements, Family Feels, Fluff, Gen, Libs is sir-not-appearing-in-this-episode, Mentions of Bahamut being a dick, Nyx trying to learn all the things, a very slight bit of pre-CorNyx, maybe a dash of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 18:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20912270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cloudseer/pseuds/Cloudseer
Summary: Cor snorted. “If you really get lost just stay put. I’ll come for you, I promise.”In which Nyx gets lost in town, but everything turns out alright anyways.





	And the wheel keeps on turning

**Author's Note:**

> I have no excuse for how long this took me.
> 
> Or the fact that it's pure, self-indulgent fluff.

Cor was packing the last few things he would take to the town. Nyx was, at his request, collecting eggs and carefully packing them for transport. He wasn’t to worried, he had shown him how to keep them from breaking and the man was very conscientious when following his example.

“But it won’t be for too long!”

He was, also, having a very spirited discussion with a bird.

“Fine, fine. I’ll get him something too.”

And loosing. Cor hadn’t wanted to ask about what because he was more than a bit concerned of what the answer would be. To be fair to Nyx, he had introduced this particular bird to him as his sister the day before. Cor had decided, in order to keep his sanity intact, to greet Crowe as he would a person. She seemed to appreciate it, at least. To him it had been the weirdest month, starting with Noctis’ talking fish -not the only one, apparently, according to Nyx- and then Nyx’s introduction of his ‘siblings’.

Not that that is a bad thing. He thought with a smile as he went to wake up Noctis, though to his surprise he found the teenager already awake. He was splitting his attention between fidgeting with the book in his hands and glancing out the window. It was unusual for him to be awake before the sun came up, and judging by the dark circles under his eyes he hadn’t slept all that well.

“What’s wrong?” He sat down besides him on the bed as Noctis sighed and dropped the book.

“I… don’t know?” Noctis slumped just enough to lean into his side as Cor wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders. “I just…. kinda don’t want you to go.”

“Ah.” He should have known. It hadn’t been a problem before, when it was just the two of them. Neither were of the talkative sort, so Noctis hadn’t been bothered by spending a few days out of the month on his own. Except it wasn’t just them in the cabin anymore, and Nyx was talkative. He thought out loud and asked questions and kept an almost constant stream of conversation going at any time. Unlike previous times Noctis must be feeling the imminent isolation, however temporary it was going to be.

“I know it’s stupid bu--

“It’s not.” Not for the first time, Cor wished he could take him down to the bustling little town at the foot of their mountain. He would have, if Noctis didn’t look so much like his father and even his grandfather when young. He had seen the portraits, there was no way the resemblance would go unnoticed. “I… Hm.” Maybe with a few changes? He would have to write to Cid again. “I’ll think of something, for the next time.”

“Really? But you said it’s too risky.”  
“It is, but I think you’re old enough people won’t be actively looking.”

Noctis hugged him tightly. “Thanks”, he mumbled into his shoulder. “I didn’t want to be a bother.”

“You’ll never be a bother, Noct. Never.” He said, hugging the teen back and not letting go until Noctis did. “Do you have anything you want me to send?”

“Yes!” Noticeably cheered up, Noctis jumped out of bed, rushing to give him a small bundle of letters and trinkets. It hurt Cor’s heart a bit, that there was not more he could offer his friends and their son. They deserved better than the life the prophecy had imposed on them.

Suppressing a sigh, Cor took the proffered package as he smoothed out Noctis’ bed hair. “We’ll be back in three days, at most.”

“Ok.”

\--

Noctis let out a loud sigh as he watched the two older men become tiny specks down the road. He felt like a child, missing them already when the day wasn’t even over. He _was_ used to being alone for days, and he could take care of himself, even if Cor was a far better cook than him. It was just the silence. He had gotten unused to how quiet the house could be, without anyone else around.

_Well, that was a big one._ He jumped, and turned when a feminine voice spoke. On his window was perched a bird.

“Crowe?” That was how Nyx had introduced his sister as, and Astrals that was so cool. She nodded, and flew from the window to perch on the back of his chair. “You can talk to me?”

_It’s harder when there are more people._

“Oh…” That explained why Nyx had done the introductions. “Where is… uh….”

_Libertus?_ She said, tilting her head. _He’s checking on a friend of ours. That Nyx forgot to warn._

“Ah.”

_So what’s eating at you?_

“Nothing.”

_Right._ How she managed to look so unimpressed without facial expressions was a mystery to him. _You’re not worried about Nyx and your dad,are you?_

“Cor’s not my dad.” He replied, almost automatically. He hated to see Cor unhappy, and it always made him sad, when he called him that by mistake. So he tried not to.

_Really now_

“He doesn’t want me to call him that.”

_Why would that change anything?_

“Because…” Huh. He didn’t have the words to explain, so he just shrugged. “It doesn’t, really. It’s just…” He waved a hand in the air. “He’s sad.”

_Hm._

The silence stretched almost awkwardly. “So… what do you want for breakfast?.”

\--

Cor had told him it wasn’t a very big town. And he supposed it was true. He had seen much bigger places, back when he travelled the skies. Though from up close, it didn’t look all that small. It was a busy place, and decently populated. The noise and the smells, so unlike the almost pristine calm of the mountain cabin, made that very clear. It was wonderful, and perhaps a little bit daunting. Nyx stepped closer to Cor, head almost on a swivel as he tried to take on as much as he could.

“This is going to take a while.” Cor said as he stopped them at the entrance of a big, open area. People were arranged neatly in tables, and were setting all kinds of things in them.

“A market?” It was fascinating, if a tad overwhelming, and much more colorful than he expected one to be. “That’s what everything we packed is for?”

“Mostly. Do you want to help me set up or take a look around first?”

Nyx smiled, “I’ll help.” It would let him get used to the place first. He burned with curiosity but didn’t quite dare to get lost among the crowd just yet.

Cor smiled back at him, motioning for him to follow to what would be their spot. “It’s divided by sections. Loosely.” He pointed to the right, where the tables made a sort of corridor. “That’s where most of the processed stuff goes. And there,” he pointed to the central path, “is where most of the farmers set their stuff.”

Nyx squinted as he considered the set-up. It didn’t seem to be as rigid an arrangement as Cor had explained, but the separation was still noticeable. “What about the left part?”

“That’s where the cooks are set. I’ll get us something to eat later.”

\--

Cor almost always managed to snag the same spot in between two corridors. He wondered if it was on purpose or just an unspoken agreement in the community, that if you used the same table twice it was yours. He leaned back on the uncomfortable chair and watched Nyx watch people pass through. It was kind of obvious that the man had never been close to a village before. And perhaps it was a bit mean of him, but he was wondering what reaction he would have, if he ever took him to Insomnia. It was a moot point, really, since that wouldn’t be in the cards until he could find a solution, if there was one to be found, to the hanging sword over their heads.

Sighing, he tapped Nyx lightly on his shoulder, calling his attention. “It’s going to be a bit slow for a while,” he told him, watching his eyes widen as he realized there would be more people coming. “I’ll go find you later.”

“Are you sure?”

He grinned at him and made a shooing motion with his hands. “Go satisfy your curiosity. As long as you stay in town I’ll find you even if you get lost.” Nyx squinted at him, which made his grin soften. “It’s really not that big,” He added, more reassuring. “And no one will give you trouble.”

“Well, okay.” He stood and slid out of their table space. “I’ll come back later, I hope.”

Cor snorted. “If you really get lost just stay put. I’ll come for you, I promise.” He took out his wallet and handed it to him. “Just in case.” Nyx frowned, but took it, albeit reluctantly. Money was a very new concept to him and although Cor had explained it to him, he was clearly still apprehensive about carrying it with him.

\--

Nyx did get lost. Although he was almost sure the market he had started out of wasn’t that far. He was looking for a place to sit for a while before another attempt at finding his way when he heard it. Laughter, and if he paid attention, the soft murmur of conversation. He followed the noise, hoping to at least get some directions, until he came upon an old woman sitting on her porch working at something with what had to be her grandchildren. And a ball of fluff on her lap.

“... Is that a rabbit?” He asked, and immediately cringed internally. He probably shouldn’t be as familiar as he was with Cor with other people he just met.

The woman laughed, however. “Never seen an Ankara rabbit before?” She pet the aforementioned rabbit, and it twitched in place. It looked almost like a cloud. Nyx wondered if it was soft.

“Can I pet it?” He had to know if it was a soft as it looked.

The kids giggled and Nyx had to smile. “Not this one, dear, I’m still spinning.” _Spinning_? That was a term he hadn’t heard before. “Go with Daphne, there, next to the pen.”

Nyx approached one of the older girls, who was, indeed, picking up a rabbit from a few that were just bouncing around in the grass. It was less fluffy than the one the grandmother was ‘spinning’, but just as docile. “This ones have been plucked already, so it’s ok.” She said, giggle still in her voice as she held it. Very tentatively, Nyx stroked its fur.

“It’s _soft_,” He whispered, petting it a bit more firmly but still gently. “What do you make from them?” Because there were many rabbits there to be just pets.

“Wool, like what grandmamma is spinning.”

Nyx turned his attention back to the older woman. With the device she was using, a wheel that indeed spun with the constant push of a pedal, she was slowly turning the rabbit’s fluff into a thread. It was amazing. “... Could you teach me, ma’am?”

The woman laughed again. “it’s not as easy as it looks, dearie, but you can give it a try.”

\--

They weren’t teaching him with the very obviously valuable rabbit wool -it was _so soft,_ Nyx wanted one. But two of the younger children, Cybele and her brother, Jacob, were also still learning, so there was plenty of the cheaper raw sheep wool to make an attempt. Getting the hang of the hand spindle took some time, and it definitely was harder than Daphne, with her experienced hand, was making it look.

He laughed, delighted, when he finally managed to make a decent, smooth length, keeping it spinning. “It’s like a hurricane, almost.” He said with a smile as he found his rhythm. Spin, pull, pinch. And his thread was slowly getting longer. It was lumpy in spots, but Arachne, the older lady, had told him it wasn’t too bad for a first attempt.

“So you didn’t get lost, after all.” Nyx didn’t jump at Cor’s voice only because that would ruin the spin he had going. And also because he was almost done. He hadn’t really realized he just spent most of the day on that.

“I… did.” He admitted. “I got a bit distracted, too.” And he had stayed put! Just like Cor had told him to do if he got lost. And it obviously worked, since the man had found him. That he had found something to do in the meantime was an unexpected but very welcome event. He smiled as the children around him giggled at what frankly was an understatement.

“Ah, Cor.” Arachne called him. “I haven’t seen you in some time. How’s your son?” If Nyx hadn’t spent almost an entire month with only him and Noctis for company he would have missed the very tiny flinch at the question.

“He’s doing much better, thank you.” Nyx tilted his head as he tried to imitate the way he was supposed to finish the thread. As far as he knew, Noctis wasn’t, nor had been, seriously ill. But there was history in that answer, so maybe that was a question to ask Cor in private. “And thank you for looking after my friend, too.”

“He’s a delight to teach.” Nyx felt his face heat up slightly at the praise, and tuned out their conversation in favor of listening intently as Daphne told him what to do with his yarn. And after an extremely nice, extremely insistent invitation to stay for tea they were walking out with three different yarn skeins, Nyx’s own yarn dyed blue- storm blue, there were so many other kinds and now he had a name for them all-, his very own spindle and a standing invitation to drop by whenever.

Cor was right, the people in the town are nice, even if the room at the in is very small the beds are not as soft as theirs, nor as big nor have as many fluffy pillows.

“... Cor?”

“Hm?”

“Noctis isn’t sick, is he?” If he was, he needed to do something nice for him. Did regular humans need something special when ill? Crowe would probably know. And Cor of course, he already knew the boy’s favorite things.

“Not really, no.” He fell into the bed. “He just… people can’t know who he is.”

“What are you hiding him from?”

Cor let out a deep sigh, almost resigned. “There’s a prophecy going around… We don’t want him to die.”

“... Prophecies are tricky things, you know?” Nyx started, trying to be reassuring. “There’s only few beings I would trust to make one.”

“The Draconian?” Damn.

“.... And he would be one of them.”

Another, heavier sigh. “We still have time to figure something out but….”

“I’ll-- We will help you. I have heard of so many things, and Libs and Crowe have been everywhere. If there is a different way I’ll help you find it, I promise.”

“You don’t-- … thank you, Nyx.” He sent him a smile, that Nyx promptly answered before burrowing under the covers. He let the sound of raindrops lull them both to sleep. It could be a sign of approval. Or maybe just a coincidence, because Grandfather never liked to be predictable. But he chose to take it as a good omen, anyways.


End file.
